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Report Calls LBUSD a National Leader

November 19, 2009

A recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Center for American Progress and the American Enterprise Institute singles out the Long Beach Unified School District as an effectively managed school system.

The report, "Leaders and Laggards," grades the 50 states on various aspects of their educational systems, and it notes a few promising leaders in educational reform.

"Today, various organizations are addressing stubborn challenges by pursuing familiar notions of good teaching and effective schooling in impressively coherent, disciplined, and strategic ways," the report states. "Some are public school districts, such as Long Beach Unified School District in California."

Even these "marquee reformers," however, struggle to raise funds and secure support, the report continues.

In many respects the recent troubles of the auto and newspaper industries provide a cautionary tale for today's education policymakers nationwide, according to the report:

"Analysts predicted structural challenges in both industries for decades. Outside consultants urged major change. Yet altering entrenched practices at businesses from General Motors to the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News proved enormously difficult. And the results of inaction for both organizations were disastrous. The same must not happen to our nation's education system. The stakes are just too high."